The NFL offseason is a time for two things: Optimism and more arbitrary lists than anyone can fathom.
Some of the most interesting lists, however, are the ones that get put together by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler every year, in which he takes a poll of scouts, coaches, and executives around the league, having them rank each individual position group.
Unfortunately, these lists only serve to expose the people in the NFL for not being able to appropriately rank the best players in the game, and Tennessee Titans fans won't like the way Jeffery Simmons was disrespected on Fowler's consensus rankings. Although he received some 1st-place votes, the scouts, coaches, and executives ultimately ranked Simmons as the 2nd-best defensive tackle in the NFL, and who he's behind makes it even worse.
Titans star Jeffery Simmons snubbed on ESPN's defensive tackle rankings
Simmons was 2nd on the list behind Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams, who has never even been in the top 5 of these rankings before. Here's part of the blurb Fowler wrote up for the Titans All-Pro:
Simmons produced his best season, with 11 sacks on a 16.3% total pass rush win rate despite facing double-teams more than 65% of the time. That win rate ranked second among defensive tackles, while his 17 tackles for loss led all interior linemen.
He nearly earned the No. 1 spot but fell just short in the voting.
"His tape was phenomenal," a veteran NFL defensive coach said. "And it's even more impressive doing it on a three-win team and getting little help around him."
- Jeremy Fowler, ESPN
Both Williams and Simmons shockingly received votes for both 1st place and 8th place on the list. The fact that Simmons received any 8th-place votes on a list like this is evidence enough that even folks in the NFL can't hide their player bias, or the fact that they don't pay close enough attention to everyone around the league.
Simmons was a 1st-team All-Pro last season, which means finishing 2nd on this type of list is understandable. But Leonard Williams wasn't the other 1st-team All-Pro last year; Zach Allen was. And it wasn't Allen ranked ahead of Simmons on this list.
It's just a list, at the end of the day, but it represents more than that. It represents the fact that the Titans' lack of team success has cost Jeffery Simmons being recognized properly in the best year he's had as a professional. Coming off of such a dominant year, especially with the lack of talent around him last season, you would think that the people in charge of assembling and evaluating talent for actual NFL teams would recognize Simmons, but they're simply not doing it.
Even his own peers around the league aren't recognizing Simmons. He recently checked in at 83rd on the NFL Top 100 Players list, as voted by the players.
Thankfully, the Titans -- as a team -- are on the rise right now. With an improved roster, maybe Simmons will be recognized the way he should be. It just might be a year behind.
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